The present invention relates generally to paints and painting and more specifically to formulating paint to match the existing color of a vehicle for repair, refinishing, and touch-up painting.
Automotive paints used in repair, refinishing, and touch-up must be formulated to match the existing color of a vehicle in order to provide high quality results. Current systems and methods of matching paint colors can be complex, expensive to maintain, and somewhat inaccurate. Specifically, traditional paint matching techniques require the storage and maintenance of dozens or even hundreds of containers of expensive tints, which are tediously mixed with neutral base coat solutions to create paint of a desired color. The formulating and matching process itself is exceedingly complex and involves the use of agitator mixing racks and lids, digital scales, microviewers and color formula microfiche, portable color analyzers, computer hardware and color retrieval software, paint code color books and other manuals and accessories.
In general, when formulating paint to match a particular color, the color code of the color assigned by the vehicle manufacturer is accessed either by microfiche viewer or computer, which provides a mix of tints that will approximate the original color. However, since the color of a vehicle can change over time and the original color can vary with paint batch or for other reasons, the original formulation rarely matches the color exactly. Accordingly, tedious and careful adjustments must be made by adding small carefully measured amounts of tints to match the color of the paint exactly to the original color of a vehicle. This process can be extremely time consuming and requires the skill of an experienced and talented painter. In fact, it is widely held in the auto repair and refinishing industry that color matching is the single most costly procedure performed in any automotive body repair shop. Even with the utmost care and skill, paint easily can be ruined beyond recovery during the matching process and it is not uncommon that many gallons of expensive ruined paint are discarded by automotive repair shops each year.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved system and method of matching the color of automotive touch-up paint precisely to the existing color of a vehicle. Such a system and method should be simple to implement by even inexperienced personnel and should result in a touch-up paint color that matches the color of a vehicle precisely every time. The need to store large amounts of expensive tints should be eliminated as should the requirement to maintain paint color matching manuals, microfiche viewers, computers, scales, and most other equipment currently required for the matching of automotive paints. It is to the provision of such a method and system that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, the present invention, in a preferred embodiment thereof, comprises a unique and substantially improved system and method of matching touch-up paint color to the existing color of a vehicle. The system includes a photo-reactive film, which may take the form of commercial photographic film having photo-activated pigments in a photographic emulsion, and a neutral base coat solution. In one embodiment, the photo-reactive film is carried on one side of an opaque card-like substrate covered and protected from exposure to light by a removable backing. In use of such a card, the card is placed on a clean painted surface of a vehicle with the photo-reactive film facing the painted surface. The backing is then removed to expose the film to the painted surface. Over time, the film develops to an exact likeness of the color of the surface, in essence making a photograph of the surface color. More specifically, the photo-activated pigments within the film""s emulsion are activated in the proper proportions to reproduce the color of the surface.
When the photo-reactive film is sufficiently exposed and fully developed, the film, which now contains the activated color pigments, is placed in an appropriate amount of solvent, which dissolves and isolates the pigments from the film substrate. The concentrated pigments are mixed with a neutral base paint solution. The pigments dissolve in the base paint solution and cause the solution to take on the exact color of the host vehicle. The resulting paint can be sprayed on the vehicle to affect repair, refinishing, or touch-up in the usual way.
As an alternative to a card with a removable protective backing, a photo-reactive film may be loaded in a standard or specialized camera, which is then used to xe2x80x9cphotographxe2x80x9d the surface color of the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, a light-tight box is placed over a cleaned area of the surface and internal lighting within the box illuminates the covered surface. The camera is attached to an adapter on the box and is activated to open its shudder and expose the film to the color of the surface. The photo-reactive film thus is exposed to the surface color to activate the pigments therein. The pigments within the exposed and developed film may then be isolated and concentrated, whereupon they are added to the neutral base paint, tinting it to match the color of the vehicle.
Since the color of the resulting touch-up paint in the present invention is determined by the existing color of the vehicle rather than starting with an approximate color and making fine adjustments, an exact match is obtained every time. Further, the need to maintain large quantities of tints is eliminated as is the requirement for color manuals, computers, microfiche readers, scales, and other complex and equipment. Accordingly, the method and system of this invention addresses and solves the problems of prior art color matching schemes while at the same time providing superior results through a simple to implement process that can be performed virtually by anyone. These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.